3 of 4 held in agent's shooting to be deported

The FBI has ruled out friendly fire in the Dec. 14 fatal
shooting of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, and three of the four
men apprehended that night have been cleared in connection with the
crime.

FBI spokesman Manuel Johnson said Tuesday that there is no
evidence at all that Terry was shot and killed by fellow Border
Patrol agents during the deadly gunfight with bandits northwest of
Nogales. His statement puts to rest one aspect of speculation about
the events that led to Terry's death.

The clearing of the three illegal immigrants from Mexico - who
are pleading guilty to immigration charges and being set up for
deportation this week - leaves one man in custody who was arrested
the night of the shootout.

He is a 34-year-old Mexican man who was wounded in the shootout,
Border Patrol officials said. He is charged with illegal re-entry
after deportation and is awaiting a trial scheduled for March 8,
said Heather Williams of the Federal Public Defender's Office in
Tucson. Williams said she has not been notified if the U.S.
Attorney's Office plans to charge him in connection with the
shooting.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Robbie Sherwood wouldn't say if
the man will be charged in connection with the agent's slaying. He
said the decision to let the other three go back to Mexico was
based on evidence.

"Based upon an extensive investigation conducted to date, there
is no evidence tying these three individuals to the shooting of
Border Patrol agent Brian Terry" Sherwood said in an e-mail.

Leslie Bowman, a Tucson attorney representing one of the three
men who has been cleared, said the three men just happened to be
crossing illegally in the same area where the shooting occurred and
had nothing to do with the gunfight.

Before his plea hearing began Tuesday afternoon at the Evo A.
DeConcini Courthouse in Tucson, Bowman's 29-year-old client greeted
her with a big smile and hug.

"He has maintained his innocence from the moment of his arrest,"
Bowman. "He's relieved that justice was served."

The man was given time served, which amounted to 63 days, and
released to immigration authorities for deportation to Mexico. At a
plea hearing earlier in the day at the courthouse, a 19-year-old
from Mexico also received time served and was set up for
deportation.

"My client is very happy," said his attorney, Edward Laber.

The third man, a 21-year-old from Mexico, has a change-of-plea
hearing scheduled for today, at which time he is expected to plead
guilty to immigration charges and be deported.

The Arizona Daily Star is withholding the names of the four men
because they were not charged in connection with Terry's
shooting.

The investigation is ongoing as investigators and prosecutors
aim to bring criminal charges against the people responsible for
Terry's murder, Sherwood said in a statement.

"We continue to devote significant resources and manpower to
this investigation," Sherwood said. "This investigation is
extremely active and progressing."

Agent Terry's family in Michigan remains frustrated with the
investigation. The FBI's statement discounting friendly fire as a
possibility didn't do anything to temper their dissatisfaction.

"They say that, but they won't show us ballistics or the autopsy
report to prove that," said Kent Terry, the agent's 43-year-old
older brother. "We've asked for them, and they said they couldn't
give them to us."

While in Arizona last month for Terry's public memorial, the
family met in a hotel with officials from the FBI and U.S.
Attorney's Office, Kent Terry said. The family asked many
questions, but authorities told family members they couldn't answer
them because of the ongoing investigation, he said.

"We are left in the dark about everything," Terry said.
"Honestly, I think there's blood on their hands, and they are
trying to sweep it under the rug."

Terry, 40, was the 10th agent to die on duty in the Border
Patrol's Tucson Sector since 1926 and the first agent shot to death
since 1998. Terry was buried in his hometown of Detroit on Dec. 22,
and hundreds attended his memorial service last month in
Tucson.